Korg Forums

[musicbysterling]

Thanks to Phinnin, I figured out how to successfully set up a metronome/click in a Combi that I can send out to my drummer using one of the outputs. HOWEVER, for whatever reason, I can't save a Combi with the Drum Track button turned on. Currently, I have to select the Combi and then manually turn it on. Is there a reason why this is happening?
thx

[GregC]

[musicbysterling]

The Drum Track button is lit when I save the Combi. and the Mode is set to start immediately

[GregC]

[19naia]

Is Combi on Memory protect in Global mode?

Is drum track disabled in global mode?. Even so, the light should still come on and the drum track save, but no action comes out of it when disabled. I doubt this is the issue because your drum track is grooving when you turn it on and trigger it.

Drum track and Karma play together in combis even over the same channel.

The problem sounds very odd to me as combi’s always save whatever drum track is configured to, even if drum track is set up with no pattern.

Is drum track switch set up in tandem with another control to share the same CC message? Such that when you turn drum track on, the other control is putting out a CC message for drum track to be off. Maybe the save is deciding which of the two messages actions to write. Karma: Link to drum track, should not cause this problem.
Maybe some other control has drum track switch CC going in the off configuration. I had a foot switch go bad on me a flip its polarity on me inside the switch and was operating backwards. So i went into kronos and changed polarity there but that changed my JS-y behaviour because i had foot switch set to control JS-y. I had all kinds of Combi’s go weird on me and it took a while to track down the inverted message related to CC control web. Any controls you know of that are set to drum track?

I saw on youtube a video once of a box a guy made which had a switch on it that caused the box to open, a lever to pop out which flipped the switch back off and closed the box -all very quickly set to the original state.
Literally a switch that activated only the function of turning the very same switch off.
So that had me wondering of situations of similar futility being programed into kronos. Like a drum track filled with a pattern that contained only the CC message to turn off drum track. You turn drum track on and trigger the pattern which immediately turns off drum track. Repeat and you go in the same circle of futility forever. It can be done with sequencer where the first midi data that runs when the play button is pressed, is the sequencer start/stop CC message.

https://youtu.be/69w_sbSkOn0

I am not suggesting this is related to your issue but it was a stray light that came on while imagining stray CC messages causing conflict. It is a good concept to have in mind when trouble shooting the labyrinth of something like kronos.

Sorry if my reply gives no solution.

[musicbysterling]

In Global Mode, there are no boxes in the Karma/Drum Track section that are highlighted red, meaning, I assume, nothing is turned off. Memory Protect is off. When I go into the Karma page in the Combi itself, I am totally clueless on even what to look for.

[GregC]

[19naia]

The Combi should write to memory in any configuration of Karma and drum track you have.
If drum track is on and working right when the Write process is done, that is what should be saved.
I save combi’s with Karma and drum track all armed and ready for the first key i touch.

I am thinking a conflicting CC message from another control.
I had an isse with my combis from a bad Foot switch that flipped polarity on me. I had the F.switch set to do JS-Y control but it had JS-Y inverted such that JS center was giving JS-y results. Even though the combi was saved as normal JS function, the linked pedal with flipped polarity ended up flipping the JS function. I had to toggle the JS once to get it to reset when i came to a combi if i wanted my combi to sound right.
Now if that were F.switch set to drum track on/off, the inverted polarity of foot switch would them send the opposite message so that even though the combi is saved with drum track on, as soon as i scroll into the combi, the combi registers the F.switch message and drum track on/off sets to what foot switch determines.

Look for controls set to Drum track on/off function. Foot switch and foot pedal are a good place to start. Polarity cnflicts between two controls can make one of them work backwards so that a saved on position gets flipped off by the other control’s message.

Like the dynamics of the “box of futility” here: https://youtu.be/69w_sbSkOn0

Page 38 of kronos “OPERATION Guide” says that foot switch can control drum track on Off and i already had it do to my combi’s what it is doing to yours except mine was starting JS-y rather than at JS center where the combi was written to start at. Same thing if it were drum track control where you save drum track on but the foot switch overides that and sends its flipped polarity message where on is off and off is on. The drum track button saves correctly but gets overidden by the other control sending the opposite message.

There may be other controls that can do the same skewer job but if any, it is going to be assignable controls with variable polarity settings. Focus on those.
I hope this is the problem because i cannot imagine anything else doing it if this is not what is going on.

[musicbysterling]

I went to the Global Mode Controllers page and my eyes immediately glazed over.So where should I begin to search for this? I don't have a clue where to start.

[19naia]

Foot switch is easy. It is on Global Controller Page at the very top left section with Sutain pedal, foot switch and Pedal. Foot switch is the very first at the top of the item list.
The section that says Foot switch & Pedal/ Damper. Very top left.

Look at Foot switch Assign to see if it is set to Drum track. If it is, then there is hope that you may be closing in on your problem. If it is not set to Drum track, then i apologize disturbing you and mourn with you at this midnight hour on the Kronos.

Being set to drum track isn’t the exact problem itself, Go down to the section list to “Foot switch Polarity” and change it to the opposite of what you find it at. Then try your Combi write again with drum track set to be on.

Also maybe quick and easy is to unplug any foot switch or look to see if your foot switch has a polarity switch built in. You can make the polarity change on the plugged-in foot switch first and then try your Combi Write with Drumtrack on.

I prefer to first go to global and unplug the foot switch from kronos and flip the polarity in Global. Because if it is a faulty Foot switch like i had, it does no good to even bother with any of the foot switch features. Just unplug it.

Also, if you don't need foot switch assigned to Drum track with a chance of derailing your work flow, just assign it to off or something you actually need. That would be the best.

[musicbysterling]

My Kronos is sleeping right now. I'll follow your suggestions tomorrow and will post with results.
Thanks!

[GregC]

[psionic311]

This method below will let you save the Drum Track LED on (flashing) as soon as you select the Combi. However, you will still need to press a key to start the drum pattern.

In COMBI mode, on the Drum Track tab (found on the EQ/Vector Control tab), set it to match these parameters:

Trigger
Mode: Wait KBD trigger
Latch: ON
Sync: ON

Keyboard Trigger Zone
Keyboard Top: (whatever you want)
Keyboard Bottom: C -1

Now press the Drum Track button so that it is flashing on and off.
-- You can test that it works by pressing any key and the drum track will start. The Drum Track LED will turn solid.
-- Press the Drum Track button again to turn off the drum machine.
-- Press the Drum Track button again to get it to flash, indicating that it's in "standby" mode, ready for a key to be pressed to start the drums again.
-- Now save the combi with the LED flashing. Press the REC WRITE button (under the Sequencer buttons) to pop up the box asking to Update the Combination, press OK.

Now when you change to a different combi, then come back to this, the Drum Track LED will be in a flashing state, saying it's ready to start playing as soon a key is pressed. HTH

[musicbysterling]

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has responded to my plea for help and all attempts at holding my hand through this ordeal. I greatly appreciate it!

So I have attempted to follow 19naia and GregC's advice regarding what the Footswitch is set to in Global. I have never used the Footswitch controller, but have set it to Off. My Foot Pedal is set to Expression (CC#11). Damper polarity is set to (-). I'm using a Korg pedal. Under the MIDI pages of the Combi in question, I have turned off the Footswitch for all tracks. Under the EQ/Vector/Control tab, the Drum Pattern is set to Preset(Cuban Percussion) and the instrument set to P417(metronome), with Trigger Mode set to Start Immediately. I then enable the Drum Track button and the click is audible, playing at the tempo indicated by the 144 in the upper right corner. The Combi is then saved. I then select another Combi and then go back to the one I just edited, the Drum Track button is not lit. Only when I enable it does the click become audible. When I put this Combi in a Setlist, the same thing occurs; the button has to be enable manually.

When I follow psionic311's suggestions and set the the Trigger Mode to wait kybd trigger, set Latch and Sync to on and then assign E1 to be the trigger note, ensuring the Drum Track switch is engaged and then saved. When I reselect the Combi again, the Drum Track switch is not engaged. I then manually engage it and when I pressed E-1, the click begins.

So, obviously, there is something else I must be missing here.
In Global/Basic Setup, I have all the Karma/Drum track boxes unchecked, which I assume means they are engaged? Is there something in this box I need to address next?

[psionic311]

When you select the combi, you will need to take at least one action to begin the drum track playing -- either click the Drum Track button on (19 and Greg's option above) or else press the E key (my method above).

With their suggestion, the Drum Track button will not be lit upon selecting the combi.

With my method, the Drum Track button will be flashing upon selecting the combi via Combi mode or Set List mode.

Either method requires that *one more action* after selecting the combi. I believe you must get rid of the expectation that as soon as you select the combi the drums automatically start playing. This is critical for live gigging. Not only does it allow you to prep and load the combi for the next song, but it allows you to wait until everyone is ready and you can then turn on the click track. No accidental selection causing accidental beat in drummer's headphones. The one little extra step after selecting the combi only needs a few milliseconds to start.

With that expectation set aside, I double checked my method and it does still work after reloading my Kronos. I did notice that when I changed the mode from Start Immediately to Wait for KBD, then pressed play and saved, then went away from and back to the combi, the Drum Track LED was not lit. I had to save it again after pressing the DT button.

In other words, try my settings again, and save. Go away from combi and back again, and if the DT button is not lit, press it, and save again. Then go away from the combi and back again, and it should be lit. You're almost there.